Mirabell
27-Feb-2011, 02:15
Taiyo Matsumoto’s graphic novel Tekkonkinkreet, originally published in 1994 as 鉄コン筋クリート in three volumes (after having been published in small increments from 1993 to 1994), is a deeply impressive, powerful hunk of a comic book, the translated version of which (translated by Lillian Olsen) deservedly won the prestigious Eisner award. It’s a 614 page story about two brothers and a modern Japanese city in the process of changing, a book that is as moving as it’s ingeniously constructed and brilliantly drawn. Tekkonkinkreet describes a world that is about to dissolve, about to disappear beneath the inevitable onslaught of change, and we feel this loss like the tragedy that it is, because within the pages of this book, the world is completely, fully, palpably realized. You enter Matsumoto’s world on his own terms and while you’re always conscious of this being the case, you are always sorry to leave. The full review is here http://shigekuni.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/taiyo-matsumoto-tekkonkinkreet/
Edit: I'll add a postscript I added to the review
I am not an artist and I only occasionally read and write about graphic novels. Please excuse any nonsense I wrote. This book is much better than what I managed to write about it. I included photos of some pages and both of its covers so you can double check what I wrote. Whatever you think of my review, there’s no doubt that this is an excellent work of art, well written, well drawn, and conceived by a visionary. Please read it.
Edit: I'll add a postscript I added to the review
I am not an artist and I only occasionally read and write about graphic novels. Please excuse any nonsense I wrote. This book is much better than what I managed to write about it. I included photos of some pages and both of its covers so you can double check what I wrote. Whatever you think of my review, there’s no doubt that this is an excellent work of art, well written, well drawn, and conceived by a visionary. Please read it.